Detergent composition



April 9, 1932- y E. sfsToDDARD y 1,854,235

DETERGENT COMPOS ITION Filed Jan. 18, 1930 fnoez: 1 .Idgarsmdddfd g f wPatented Apr. 19, 1.932

UNITED STATE s PATENT oFFicE EDGAR S. STODDARD, OF BEBWYN, ILLINOIS,ASSIGNOR TO {11H25}.GONOVERv COMPANY. OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, .ACORPORATION F ILLINOIS DETERGENT COMPOSITION Applicationled January 18,1930.' Serial No. 421,819.

The present invention relates to an iinproved detergent composition anda method of utilizing the same, and it particularl relates to animproved detergent composition which is adapted to wash dishes.

Although the present invention is adapted to be utilized in connectionwith the washing and cleansing of man articles and materials, it will bespecifical y and very advantageously applicable to the washing andcleansing operations as carried out in dishwashino" machines ofthespray-projector type. n these machines, a fine spray of the cleansingliquid, which is usually water, containing soap and/or seine otherdetergent', is projected against the surface of the 'object to becleansed at the rate of about 2,000 to 3,000 :feet per minute, thuscausing a considerable impact wlien the water strikes the object. Thisimpact in addition to the Washing action of the water, is effective toloosen and carry away the food and dirt particles adhering t0 theobjects being cleansed.

Spray-projector type dishwashing machines in connection with which theprocess oi the present invention-may be very advantageousl utilized aremore fully shown and describe in application Serial Nos. 333,841,193,414, 262,659, 344,112 and seance filed Januar 12, 1920, May 23,1927, March 1.9, 1928, Miirch 5, 1929, and'August 31, 1929,rcspeetively. In these machines the cleansing actions depends upon the oeration of a small unencased screw propel er-lilie impeller, with curvedblades, which impellcr ref' tates at a high velocity of the order of1,000 to-2,000 R. P. M. in the lower part of the tank of the machine. Asit turns, the impeller elevates the liquid from its lower screwpropeller portions to its upper concave projectors which throw thecleansing liqui( at a tremendous velocity directly upon, or into, theobjects to be cleansed. Since there are no substantial bailles ordeliectors to break the force of the liquid, thetotal force oi theprojected mass of liquid is effective for cleansing purposes. Althoughthe velocity of the cleansing liquid is very high, the volume ofcleansing li uid is very small, and as a result a very e ectivecleansing is obtained with a minimum and most eiicient use of the4cleansing agent. Under these conditions it is desirable to utilize adetergent-water composition of special character and quality' 'and totprov; de such a composition is one of the principal objects of thepresent invention.

As a specific example of the practicing of the processes ot the presentinvention, `the operation of'cleansing dishes and similar ob- Jeots in aspray-projector type disliwashing machine, such as those described inthe above identiied applications, will be described. Dishwasliii'igmachines of the spray-projec- .tor type are provided with verticalWashing chambers, usually of polygonal or cylindrical shape. The lowerpart of the washin chainber is adapted to contain a pool o water, whichpool may be of increased depth below the central portion of the wateractuating `device. The deepest portion of such pool may b e adapted toreceive all the incoming and circulating washing and rinse 1i nidsbefore they are taken up and distribute by the impel er or Wateractuating device and it also is adapted to receive all waste liquidbefore it is discharged from the tank. The washing chamber is adapted tobe opened either on the top or side, and by means of such opening it maybe filled with the ob- ]ects to be cleansed. In the preferred embodimentof the invention, the dishes, lates and silverware are positionedvertica ly in the lower part of the washing chamber above the liquidpool and the impeller. In the case ot the silverware, the portions whichcome into contact with the food are positioned uppermost, while in thecase of dishes and plates, the concave portions are caused to face thecenter of the machine either artly or wholl The upper part of the wasiing chamber 1s adapted to contain the deep vessels such as the jlasses,cups, deep bowls, etc. These artic es are positioned so aste face theimpeller or the lower center of the washing chamber. When the disheshave been put into position in the washing chamber, the washing chamberis closed. My inventionY will be specifically described with referenceto the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a cross section of abody of soap incorporated in an outer layer of trisodium phosphate; and

Fig. 2 is a cross section of a capsule containing a body of soapsurrounded by a body of trisodium phosphate, these ingredients beingseparated by a water soluble layer of gelatin. y

It is desirable in washing dishes to dissolve an alkaline and/ornon-suds-producing detergent in the water first and then after thisdetergent has dissolved, to dissolve a collodial or other suds-producingdetergent therein. Trisodium phosphate has been found to be one of themost satisfactory detergents to use in the first instance, while soaphas been found to be one of the most satisfactory detergents to use inthe second instance. These detergents may be added separately, orsimultaneously, to the liquid which forms the cleansing medium, but inall cases.. provision should be made that the former detergent orsubstance be dissolved in the water before the latter. This is mostreadily done in the preferred method of the present invention, in whichthe soap is added in such a manner that it is coated by, or encapsulatedin, trisodium phosphate. One method of accomplishing this is bypreparing a soap mixture in a relatively fine state of division which iscoated with a substantial layer of trisodium phosphate. This may beaccomplished by spray-drying a suspension of soap in a concentratedsolution of trisodium phosphate, or comminuted soap particles or iiakesmay be coated or sprayed with trisodium phosphate. This external layerof trisodium phosphate may be caused to dissolve more slowly and may becaused to form a more coherent coating around the soap particles by theaddition of oily, waxy or mucilaginous or other suitable bindingmaterials, such for example, as a mixture of sodium silicate and sodiumphosphate. This embodiment of my invention is illustrated in Fig. 1, inwhich 1 represents an inner body of soap and 2 is an external layer oftrisodium phosphate.

In another embodiment of the invention, shown in Fig. 2, a doublecapsule is provided,

the interior of which may consist of soap indicated by the numeral 10 ora material having a similar action, while the exterior may containtrisodium phosphate, indicated by the numeral 20 or a similar material.Both 'the exterior and interior portions of these capsules shouldpreferably be surrounded by a skin or shell of material which willeither disintegrate or dissolve when placed in the cleansing or rinsingliquid. In the drawings, 11 represents a water soluble gelatin layersurrounding the body of the soap, and l2 designates a water solublegelatin skin which surrounds the outer layer of trisodium phosphate.When the capsules are constructed in this manner, they may be readilyprepared and sold to dishwater users,

and they may be proportioned so that putting one or a certain number ofthe capsules in the cleansing liquid, either before or after itsaddition to the machine, will sufce to give it the desirable detergentproperties. In this last mentioned embodiment of the invention, it hasbeen found most satisfactory to use gelatin shells or coatings which maybe insolubilized. Other materials than gelatin may also be utilized,depending upon said solubility in water. Preferably the outer shellshould be more readilysolublethan the inner shell, so that the trisodiumphosphate will have an opportunity to dissolve yin the cleansing andrinsing liquid completely before the soap is attacked by the liquid.Gelatin is quite satisfactory,`when Water is used as the cleansingfluid, because it may be insolubilized inl various degrees so thatshells of varying solubility may be obtained. In additiomfthe gelatinwhenl dissolved affects in desirable manner the'detergent properties of.the liquid. Among other things, it increases the viscosity, theflotation powers of the liquid and the emulsifying qualities thereof. Ofcourse it is obvious that other materials may be used to form thesurrounding walls or shells of the capsules, but for reasons whichclearly appear, the gelatin has been found to be very satisfactory. Whengelatin is used as a separating material, it is preferably usedin'thickness varying between 1/64t-h on an inch and 3/64ths of an inch.In' other wo-rds, it has been found quite satisfactoryto use gelatinwalls as the separating and casing material approximately 1/32nd of 'aninch in thickness. A satisfactoiycapsule may be approximatelysymmetrical in shape with round ends and have a diameter of one inch anda .length of 2% inches. These proportions, of course, may be widelyvaried, according to the use, fluid characteristics and volume andtemperature of fluid.

To give an example of the proportioning, in one embodiment-of theinvention, which .is by no means restrictive, it has been found verysatisfactory to utilize about one to five tablespoonfuls of a watersoluble soap or an alkali metal salt of a high molecular weight fattyacid to every five quarts of cleansing or rinsing liquid. The trisodiumphosphate may also be proportioned so that there will be one-half tothree tablespoo'nfuls of this material or a similar alkaline reagent inthe external portion of the capsule. The proportions of both soap andphosphate may be varied and are preferably adjusted to the requirementsof the local water supply and the amount of water placed in the washingchamber. The figures set forth above are merely to set forth therelative proportions which have been found satisfactory in severalinstances.

Although as mentioned above, the capsulel may be added in various waysto the cleansing liquid, it has been found 'satisfactory to add it tothe lower partof the washing cham ber of the machin-'e "so that it willposition itself in the cleansing pool which forms in in the bottom ofthe Washing chamber and gradually dissolve in such pool. The capsule mayalso be placed in the entrance'pipe in such a position that thefliquidwill Wash over it and gradually dissolve the phosphate and then dissolvethe soap. The charge of Water or other liquid added to the machineshould preferably be too hot to touch. The temperature may be materiallyover 140 F. It usually is not over 21001?. A normal charge for adishWa-shing machine Will vary between two to'lifteen quarts of liquid,depending upon thesize of the machine and the actuating device. Althoughas stated abovethe amount of suds-forming detergent utilized will varybetween one to five tablespoonfuls of soap flakes for every JivequartsofWater, it has been preferred for many purposes to utilize only about oneto one and one-half. The concentration of soap should be such that thecleansing liquid has sufficient viscosity and froth to emulsify and/orsupport the grease and food particles removed from the dishes and tocarry them out of the machine. The washing and cleansing liqvuid in themachine may have the consistency of Whipped cream. Soapsuds of thiscon`- sistency reduce the slight noise of the circulating Water in themachine.

2. A detergent composition comprising sqlap surrounded by avshell oftrisodium phosp, ate. v

3. A detergent composition, comprising .a water soluble capsulecontaining` a body of soap surrounded by a body of trisodium phosphate,the soap and trisodium phosphate being separated by a layer of Watersoluble gelatin.

4. A detergent composition, comprising a water soluble gelatin capsulecontaining a body of soap surrounded by a. body of trisodium phosphate,the, soap and trisodium phosphate being separated by .a layer of watersoluble gelatin which is less readily soluble than said capsule.

lIn testimony whereof I have subscribed my name to the foregoingspecification and claims.

rEDGAR S. STODDARD.

A particularadvantage of the present invention resides in the fact thatdishes may be much more satisfactorily cleansed initially with a watertreated with an alkaline alkali metal salt such assodium phosphatebefore being subjected to a soap cleansing. vWhen the soap becomesdissolved in the liquid, it has a tendency to cushion thecleansing-action of the Water in certain respects, and for this reasonit is very desirable to have an initial cleansing action which is notcushioned by the soa-psuds.

Although trisodium phosphate is the preferred non-colloidal alkalinereagent and soap is the preferred foaming detergent because of theiravailability in most households, it is'obvious that many equivalentdetergents may be utilized. For example, itis possible to utilize otheralkaline-reacting salts in place of or in addition to trisodiumphosphate. It is also possible-to utilize other suds-forming detergentsin place of or in addition to soap.

lVhat is claimed is:

1. A detergent composition comprising a capsule containing .soapinteriorly and trisodium phosphate enteri'orly, the entire capsule beingsurrounded'by a shell of material being disintegrable in Water, and thesoap and phosphate being separated by an inner shell of similarcharacter.

